Douluo Continent (2021)

Beautiful drama with good technology

Happy to see an actor who is involved in creating magic. Got involved with actors acting and the story line. Over all a great experience. The emotions of the indivisual actors were good. Very happy with the graphics used.
Happy with the coustumes and the backgrounds used. A lot of hard work put togeather with the technical and non-technical team . The actors fif a great job. Please do waych the dram. In The beginning of the story the hero looked so beautiful and innocent. He took care of his father the emotions he had when he left his father for the studies. The problems he faced in his first school. The way he met his master. The intro of the female character which is very bubbly. The process of acquring his first soul ring his fight with the human headed spider every thing was pitcherised so well. The way how he entered his second school. The process of making friends and practing the skills the guidence of his master the way of enterining the star forest. Acquring his third soul ring then travelling with the school family to a new world wanted to meet his father.
Tang sane knowing about his mother after saving the girl by transfering the blood. Beinging minuse to posion. Mother's emotion towards son. Trying to make him strong and advising to be away from revenge. The back ground was very beautiful. Over all a good experience watching a chinese drama. I like the actor. Kodous to the actor and his acting skills having a beautiful smile attracting every one with his modesty and behaviour.

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Charming unlike any other

Tang San is a perfect role model. I read a helpful review that this is good for the whole family. I agree. What I like about this drama is that it holds dear the parent-child bond and the bond between friends and brother/sister-in-arms. There is a clear storyline of having a moral compass, a good heart. So many feel-good moments. It's not fair to compare this to say Nirvana in Fire, which is considered a masterpiece. This one has its own charm.

Every one of the characters, other than Tang San, when introduced, had personality flaws that bothered me, but soon I was rooting and cheering for them individually and as a team. Lots of rewatchable scenes. Good casting, good acting as well. Xiao Zhan did a great job portraying Tang San as the filial son, a pure heart. There is also plenty of action and adventure.

I've recommended this to a few, and they come back to me that they love it. My other half right away started binging it. I agreed with him that the Duoluo Continent does have a great "anime" feel to it.

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lighthearted hero live-action drama

I had not read the novel and have not watch the anime - the only thing I knew about this series was based on the previews - and it isn't what I expected. But considering this is a lunch-time tv show, it makes sense.

What I didn't expect:
- how much humor is in this show - I somehow walked into this thinking it's a fighting drama, but it's half comedy. The goofballness of it actually took a minute to get used to, but once I did, it was something I look forward to. The 7 monsters just feels like little trouble-making monsters to me. So cute!
- not as much fight scene as I expected - but I read somewhere that some of more bloody scene had to be cut to get on TV (unsure if there is truth to it, but there are some places where I feel like there is an obvious cut-away - namely a practice fight with the phoenix against the helpers).
- xz is the clear lead, but I grown to care about the ensemble. I don't usually care about the "side characters".
- at the same time, I wish for more character development. Each ep is only about 30min (because it's on TV and has to account for commercial time???). I think each ep can use extra 15 min, and that'd help
- I half thought I would find the FL to be too cute, but actually I find the cuteness fitting of a bunny character. I liked her.
- costume - how many change of clothes did xz have? I liked them all.
- the positive values the show try to teach - I guess that's how it ends up on CCTV...
- I do think the editing favor these moments of teaching vs story / plot... (I chalk it up to the price of being on CCTV. if this is only an online drama, i think it'd be differently edited... but I guess I have to support shows trying to get a wider audience......)
- the trailer made me think this is a xianxia/wuxia shows - but it's much more contemporary than I anticipated, which I enjoy***

What I expected:
- I watched this show because of xz, and he didn't disappoint
- I don't know what's the online grip about the FX. It looks so pretty. I want to go to the secret garden

What I hoped and didn't get:
- While I haven't read the novel or watch the anime, so I don't care how strong ts is supposed to be. But he has his hammer spirit, and clearly someone special. I was very much waiting for that one moment where he comes to that full power (even if it's not as powerful as the novel version, within the limit of the tv version). He kinda sorta does at the last ep (which I do enjoy that last ep), it's still lacking. It isn't his hammer that won the fight, it's FL - which may play well into the partnership / lover thread but I really want ts to have that winning moment. (I guess they're saving something for s2...)
- There are definitely choppy plots. I assume it's due to editing / censorship, etc. It's not so much that I can't enjoy the story, but clearly the story can be better developed.

Bottom line: A lighthearted hero drama - it's not so light that it's without substance. It's not so heavy that you feel like to you need to take a moment to absorb it all. It's one of those shows that feels like it's good for the family - there is something for everyone, young or old.

***edit: since I'm experiencing withdrawal from the 7 monsters, I started binging the donghua (which I had planned to do knowing I'd likely have such withdrawal). I must place the caution here that this drama draws from the source materials, but don't compare. For whatever reasons (market, audience, rules, "wholesomeness"), you see clear inspirations but you won't see the same things at all. I enjoy the donghua. I enjoy the live-action. But each really should be viewed on its own merit. It also explains why it's more contemporary than I anticipated - the source material is very contemporary!

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Fun, cute characters, above-average cultivation drama. Terrible adaptation.

I came to this drama as a fan both the screenwriter Wang Juan (his previous work Joy of Life is in my top 2-3 favorite dramas) and the Douluo Dalu novel. However, I recognize that novels and dramas are two fundamentally different mediums and that it would like be impossible to faithfully adapt the novel into a visual medium, especially given China's copyright laws. I will try to give my thoughts on the drama on its own merits and leave the comparisons to last.

The good:
- The core cast (Shrek seven devils and teachers) play quite well together and they're really fun to watch. The scenes of teambuilding and the students just hanging out were probably my favorites from the whole drama and I'd honestly watch a slice of life drama with them just hanging out and bickering

- On a related note, the acting in general is good. Nobody was terrible although performances all around were a bit flat. Some people have objections to the FL's acting, I didn't mind it and found her cute.

- The CGI is good, especially for a c-drama. The show is very effects-heavy and fortunately most of the time the effects aren't bad enough to be distracting and occasionally the effects look really good (spirit rings being an example)

The mediocre:
- Fights were kind of boring in general. There were 2 good group fights but a lot of the minor fights featured most of the fighters standing there looking dumb while the fight happened around them. Also, there wasn't much strategizing, fights tended to be decided based on power.

- Plot was ok but really didn't give me much suspense or pathos. I mostly kept watching because hanging out with the Shrek seven devils is fun, not because I was dying to find out what was going to happen next. The overall plot felt very messy as well, the core question that the writer posed turned out to not matter at all and new questions were raised in the last episode.

The bad:
- The music was very random and didn't help build suspense or emotion generally. I think this was a big reason why the plot didn't click with me, the soundtrack really doesn't give much feels.

- Skips and does poorly soooo many characters/moments/plot points from the novel (more on this later)

Overall thoughts:
- As far as cultivation dramas go there are definitely worse. I'd give the drama an 8/10 as a standalone drama
- However, as a fan of the source material, I can't help but conclude that the screenwriter had no interest or appreciation for the novel, because very few of the interesting characters and plot points in the source material are preserved. 4/10 adaptation

Average 6/10

Comparison to the source material:

- Most obvious point is obviously that the character of the protagonist is very different. Novel Tang San is a strategist and inflappable due to his prior life. Drama Tang San is a normal young man as the drama couldn't show transmigration.

- The thing is that this may have actually been an opportunity, not a problem. Having Tang San start out innocent and wide-eyed allowed the chance for him to have a full character arc in a hero's journey type plot where he develops from his baseline into a character more similar to novel Tang San, smart and steady. This does not happen. Tang San is written very inconsistently and his character is poorly defined, even by the end.

- Related to this, one of Tang San's core skills, making hidden weapons is largely excised from the script. It's still present in some capacity but it is no longer focused on and barely even relevant to the plot, showing up in only 1 fight.

- So many funny and/or interesting characters were glossed over or cut entirely. Obviously can't show everything but seems like they went a bit far in culling characters. For instance, in the novel Shrek Academy has multiple teachers and Fei Lan De is just the principal. In the drama he appears to be the only paid employee of the school. Budgetary constraints? Maybe.

- Most of the fight strategizing is cut out. This is a minor point as I think it would be very difficult to translate fight strategizing into a drama.

- Worst for me is just an overall loss of hype. There are a lot of climactic moments in the novel that illicit a sense of awe or fear. The drama does an exceptionally bad job at translating these. Nobody in this drama has the sense of power or danger that they should have. Nothing feels like it has stakes. The villains don't feel dangerous.

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Interesting and enjoyable

I never read the anime so I'm basing all I say on the series itself. It has been highly anticipated given that it was Xiao Zhan's next biggest tv series and he didn't disappoint. I think with the character he had and the storyline, he couldn't have done any better. That being said, I felt the character of Tang San was underdeveloped. For the most part, his ability to fight in the battles is greatly undermined by his inherit abilities. Yet, he is special in that he was able to kill soul beasts beyond his ability to absorb soul rings but the effects of the magic is hardly noticeable.

He makes up for it in his intelligence which is often the deciding factor in a battle. That being said, I found the storyline at times sway too much into the side characters leaving TS's development just enough to keep the story running. I did find the episodes increasingly more interesting as the plot thickens. I expected more unity when it came to those battle scenes with 7 distinctive soul masters. 40 episodes didn't really do it justice. I felt if it made about 5-10 episodes, more character development can be focused on.

There was clearly a deep history of TS's master that was largely unexplored. His character seem very interesting but extremely underdeveloped.

Overall, I felt the storyline could have been much better but a focus on 7 characters can be hard within a 40 episode storyline so it was enough as a taste. If they make another season, these issues can be explored but otherwise, if left like this (it would be very disappointing). I hate how this genre often leaves cliffhangers but no new seasons to complete it. The worst has been Fight Breaks Sphere which is similar to Douluo Continent when you are talking about a coming of age hero with the backdrop of a family secret. That cliffhanger still has me grinding my teeth as I enjoyed it so much but got no closure.

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Don't expect, just enjoy the ride

Unlike most of Xiao Zhan fans, Douluo Continent has never been my most anticipated dramas out of his. I went into this drama not knowing anything about the story nor the cast except Xiao Zhan himself and Xuan Yi from WJSN.

STORY:
The story is a regular fantasy tale about a hero who goes on a journey to self-discovery and meeting friends and foes along the way. I feel the drama was too short and I couldn't properly ever understand the lore in it. Seems like a lot of it was either edited out or just not included in the script. That is obvious as the source material seems to be a novel which might hold more answers to my questions. It was a decent story with a nice male protagonist but the script could have been better. The starting was nice, a strong middle and a dissatisfying end.

CHARACTERS:
Tang San was a cool guy but I felt like we never really saw the full potential of his powers or character. I should have enjoyed his character more but something felt flat till towards the end. But he was likable guy enough. My only complaint is Xiao Wu. She was cute in the beginning and I can handle cutesy Cdrama female leads but she remained too juvenile till the end. I would have liked to see more development from her. She was good at fighting and a loyal friend/sister to Tang San which I appreciated- they had a genuinely deep bond. My other favourites were the Master and the Headmaster. They were both quite nice but the Master was bit know-it-all at times.

ROMANCE:
I was never invested in it in spite of the small hints they kept dropping all along. For me, I liked Tang San- Xiao Wu more as siblings or just good friends. The romance territory was just unnecessary and I am glad it wasn't the main focus. The friendships were much more interesting. Not to mention - the ending kiss was just forgettable as heck.

ACTING:
Xiao Zhan is mighty himself- a very beautiful person and a good actor. At times I was in awe of his beauty, but a better hairstyle would have made more difference to his visuals. I feel his performance here lacked compared to The Untamed. Don't get me wrong- it was still very good but maybe just not the best role as he has already acted in a masterpiece in his career, which is hard to beat. Xuan Yi was fine and I was skeptical of her playing a dumb character because she is actually a funny and witty person in real life but she did quite decently in this drama. I feel like the story's development and plots didn't leave her with much to show. I've missed Calvin Chen and he is still likable as ever (them abs!). The rest of the cast was also fine and I didn't feel like there was any miscasting.

OST:
I like Xiao Zhan's songs. The OST is good.

OVERALL:
I've heard about most novel and anime fans hating it so maybe it isn't really a good adaptation. The story is incomplete, often times fun but more times draggy or confusing. In spite of that this is a decent drama on its own. The cast and the CGI really enhance the viewing experience of its otherwise low/cheap-looking sets and costumes. Looking at it now seems like something we'll probably never see Xiao Zhan again in because he's a top star now, but even here his passion for acting has always been evident.

I recommend to watch this drama if you're into fantasy and adventure. Other than that this drama doesn't offer much, but at least I don't regret watching it.

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Fab cast plus great plot setting

Quite a bit of difference from the anime version. Never read the novel however it can be told that the screen writer has invested a lot of energy in establishing the douluo world setting and pacing the story to just the right level.

Great casting as well. As the leading role Xiao Zhan has pulled off a great job in demonstrating the growth of a hero besides his astonishing good looking. All other supporting roles are quite likeable especially the Soul gurus and ‘senior’ ones.

The visual effects are quite impressive given it’s a 40 episode series, which has added another watchable point on top of the martial soul world.

Very much looking forward to see the last episode of the first season as by the looks of it the story might end at a very surprising point, which is what the screenwriter quite fondly in doing in the past - like the end of season 1 of Qing Yu Nian.

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The female lead "Xuanyi Wu - Xiao Wu" is not good enough

The story in this drama is good, but there is a flaw that lies in the female lead "Xuanyi Wu" who does not fit the role in this drama and is not very suitable for a good match with Zhan Xiao "
The male lead "Zhan Xiao - Tang San" is very good, only the female lead "Xuanyi Wu - Xiao Wu" is not good enough.
From my point of view, the male lead and the female lead are not suitable for a good match in the drama.

All of the acting in this drama all look good, but only one female lead "Xuanyi Wu - Xiao Wu" is either very poor or very unsuitable for the role.
I think for the second look, I definitely don't want to because the female lead "Xuanyi Wu - Xiao Wu" is not good enough to be a good match with "Zhan Xiao - Tang San".

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Let me start by saying that I haven’t read the novel/watched the donghua before watching this live adaptation so I had nothing to compare it to. Seeing how I had no expectations it was hard for me to be disappointed by certain things and changes that fans of the original story didn’t like.

Watching this as a standalone drama I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was far from perfect and there were things that really bugged me but I still think it’s a good drama. What I did like were the story and pacing, characters and their relationships, acting (for the most part) and CGI. I didn’t like most of the music choices and most of the fighting scenes.

When it comes to the story I like the overall premise. The world in which the story is set is interesting and the concept of soul powers, spirit beasts and soul rings was something fresh and new for me so it piqued my interest from the first episode. I like how they slowly introduced all characters one by one and how they all got decent backstories which made them more likable. They weren’t there as a decoration and as someone who is meant to make the main character look strong by being useless and weak. All 7 members of Shi Lan Ke were involved and capable, they worked as a team and actively helped each other to grow stronger together. That team spirit is something I liked a lot. It was interesting to watch how their relationship evolved and how over time they became real teammates and friends. The mystery involving Tang San and his parents was also well executed.

When it comes to the acting Xiao Zhan did a good job as Tang San and for me the emotional scenes were the highlight of his performance. I’m still not sure what I think about Betty Wu and her portrayal of Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu is the perfect example of the character I would usually hate and find annoying, but since she wasn’t weak and useless, and since she actively helped Tang San throughout the story, I didn’t find her annoying (for the most part). Her childish traits and mannerisms were overemphasized but I can’t really say it’s the actress’ fault. There is only one actor whose acting I found wooden, but everyone else did a good job.

The music. I think the BGM ruined a lot of scenes that could’ve been more impactful. Every time something exciting or emotional was happening it drew away my attention and instead of emphasizing the scene it ruined it. It was really frustrating. There are only few compositions that I actually liked, everything else was meeh.

The fighting scenes were saved by the amazing CGI. I hate when they show fighting in slow motion or when they show close ups of the characters’ faces or other body parts while fighting (JUST WHY?) and there was a lot of that. However, CGI looked really good and most characters used special powers while fighting so it was still interesting to watch and some of it looked really amazing. CGI in general looks very good, and I also like sound effects they used for those special powers. It was really satisfying to watch and hear.

All in all, is it worth watching? Yes. I already rewatched it with a friend and may watch it again in the future. If you’re a fan of Xiao Zhan it’s a must.

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It's suitable for all ages and can be taught especially to teens and children.

The more I watch, the more I feel attached to all the characters. Not only the male lead, but every character because they all are unique. I absolutely love the team work and their friendship so much. I wish I had a team of good friends like how this drama is T_T

The only thing I don't like about this drama is the bgm lol. It's not that bad, but maybe I'm just not a fan of it. I prefered traditional bgm.

Fact informations

1.China forbids reincarnation genre. Therefore they have to make a lot of changes to this story.

2. The script was made and preparations before the anime. By adapting from the novel the author of the novel plays an important role in making the series in many parts and the author of the novel says he likes this live adaptation.

3. The author of the novel chose Xiao Zhan to play the role of Tang San.

4. Tang San was a low budget series from the beginning. They choose actors who are not yet popular to save money to do other parts, but later, Xiao Zhan suddenly became so popular after the untamed. Therefore, the budget has been added to make the CGI parts.

5. This drama aired on Chinese TV channel CCTV8, which they don't really air this type of drama.

If you have watched the anime or read the novel. You have to be very open-minded. Anime and live action really can't compare with each other ... You have to look separately like you watch two movies. If you have a picture of Tang San and the plot/story from the anime/novel and compare it to the drama's then you will probably not enjoy this drama. This live action seems to show how every character develops their skill from weak to strong. I saw a lot of people complaining about Tang san's character. I actually like this tang san more than the anime or novel's tang san because they make him more human. They show us the efforts of tang san and his team from slowly growing their skills from weak to strong. They had a lot of good teaching and the characters had a good relationship. We learned about friends, teachers and family.

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Introductory drama

I totally understand why people gang up to hate this drama, the flaws are pretty visible, but none bothered me, I enjoyed almost everything here and I will wait for the second season.

While I was watching this in hiding I felt what I used to feel when I read a Young Adult Novel , the dynamics is very alike, how the characters meet and interact with each other.

The drama has many Japanese animation aspects, such as the sausage guy whom has a gadget who spells cold wind just like Nami from One Piece anime. You can see fight competitions like Yu Yu Hakusho, when you need strategies to win, not only power.

The plot is very simple, the drama is very introductory to their fantastic world, the characters going from newbies to powerful ones, the family relations affairs, sects enmity etc. They are always showering us with information about their powers, once again, just like One Piece anime.

Let's see if the next season will be more plot and less couples, families and powers data/info.

Note: The most visible flaw here was the sudden editing scenes, they sometimes would just jump one scene to other in abrupt way. The OST sucks too, but the main title is okey.

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